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Creator
Currier, Ruth, 1926-2011
Call number
*MGZEB 26-0002
Physical description
0.67 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Ruth Currier photographs, *MGZEB 26-0002. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Ruth Currier (1926-2011) was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. Her collection, dated from 1945 to 1973, illustrates performances, studio practices, and events from her career through photographs, negatives, contact sheets, and printed materials and programs.

Biographical/historical information

Ruth Currier was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. Currier was born Ruth Miller on January 4, 1926, in Ashland, Ohio. From 1942 to 1944, Currier studied music, history, and French at Black Mountain College. In 1945 she married Bob Currier; the two later divorced.

In the late 1940s she joined the José Limón Dance Company where she was a principal dancer until the 1960s. After Limón's death, Currier served as the company's director from 1972 to 1978. In 1958, Currier founded her own company, the Ruth Currier Dance Company, and in 1968 she was hired by the Ohio State University to organize and direct their repertory company. Currier also taught at the Juilliard School, Bennington College, Sarah Lawrence College, and the American Dance Festival.

Currier died on October 4, 2011, at her home in Brooklyn, New York.

Scope and arrangement

The Ruth Currier photographs, dated from 1945 to 1973, document performances, studio practices, lessons, and events throughout Currier's career as a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor. The collection consists of photographs, contact sheets, negatives, and printed materials.

The photographs, negatives, and contact sheets primarily depict performances or practices in the studio, performed or choreographed by Currier herself with the José Limón Dance Company. There are also some portrait photos of Currier and early photos of fellow José Limón Dance Company dancers including Betty Jones and Juan Carlos Bellini. The collection also includes photographs of Currier teaching dance students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), sent to her from UCLA's dance department.

The printed materials consist of flyers, pamphlets, and programs from performances, classes, and events put on by Currier and her dance company. There is additional printed material from Ohio State University, whose American Dance in Repertory program Currier directed, as well as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where Currier was an artist-in-residence.

Arrangement

Arranged by format with performances arranged alphabetically.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Ruth Currier via Norton Owen 1997.

Processing information

Processed by Micaela Yang in 2026.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor